In the first half of 2017, Forest Peoples Programme completed an internal rapid scoping of core lessons learnt by forest peoples and their allies in efforts to achieve sustainable livelihoods and self-determined development.

Indonesian NGOs Pusaka and Greenpeace Indonesia along with 7 local Papuan organisations have just released a statement and report from a Conference held in Sorong, West Papua, in December last year where activists reviewed the problems facing the people and forests of Papua and West Papua from forestry and land concessions.

The national indigenous peoples’ alliance in Indonesia, the Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) and the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) have submitted a critical update to the UN Human Council’s Universal Periodic Review as the HRC prepares to review the human rights situation in Indonesia. Important threats to the security of indigenous peoples in the country are highlighted, as are recent legal changes in the country.

Human rights violations linked to agribusinesses in South East Asia compelled concerned human rights groups to come together at the 5th Regional Meeting on Human Rights and Agribusiness in South East Asia on 5 and 6 November 2015 in Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan in the Philippines.

INDONESIA: KomNasHAM, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, just issued an English summary of its recent National Inquiry on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the Territories in the Forest Zone. Based on legal review, extensive testimony heard through seven hearings in all parts of the country and in depth investigation of 47 cases, the Inquiry found that despite Constitutional guarantees of the rights of the country’s indigenous peoples, these rights are systematically denied.

A startling new report reveals that Asia Pulp and Paper’s massive new paper mill in South Sumatra could experience a substantial shortfall in fibre supply. To make up this shortfall, there is a risk that APP will seek fibre from other sources as happened in the past when the company chewed through natural forests in Riau and Jambi to supply its mills.

The complaints procedure of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is one of the options available to communities threatened by the negative impacts of the palm oil industry. Drawing on direct experiences of supporting communities to use the RSPO complaints mechanism in Indonesia and Liberia, this review summarises how communities can get the most out of this procedure. Realistic outcomes include a temporary freeze on plantation development by palm oil companies while longer term solutions are negotiated.

In order to avoid imminent and irreparable harm, the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), the national indigenous peoples’ organization of Indonesia, and Forest Peoples Programme respectfully request that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) considers the situation of the Aru indigenous peoples of the Aru Islands District, Moluccas Province, under the its early warning and urgent action procedure.

A comprehensive investigation into the oil palm industry in West Papua, published by awasMIFEE and Pusaka, together with local Papuan organisations Belantara Papua, Bin Madag Hom, Jasoil, SKP KAME and Jerat Papua, and Sawit Watch.

The global forest crisis is worsening and infringements of the rights of indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities are rising, according to a detailed assessment of nine country cases. Climate change mitigation and conservation policies must place community land rights and human rights centre-stage if they are to achieve the goal of sustainably reducing deforestation says the report.

Deforestation and forest degradation in Malaysia is a complex phenomenon with varying causes. So far, however, the focus has been largely on direct causes like industrial logging, large-scale commercial oil palm plantations and agribusiness, road construction and large dams. Far less attention has been paid to the indirect or underlying causes and agents, inter-linking and working to enrich the very few while creating hardships for many people as a result of degraded or diminished resources.

Indonesia is losing its forests faster than ever. Government efforts to halt the hand out of industrial permits for logging and plantations are failing. Despite its promises to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, the country is experiencing a run-away process of forest clearance for oil palm estates and pulpwood plantations.

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) position on the Safeguards Information System (SIS).

The submission was made to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 24 Sept. 2014. The submission includes the list of 37 endorsements from indigenous peoples organisations and civil society organisations.

A new report issued by SAVE Rivers, a Sarawak Indigenous Peoples Network, details violations of Dayak peoples’ rights by both the government and companies planning to build a huge dam across Sarawak’s second largest river, the Baram.

This report issued by SAVE Rivers, a Sarawak Indigenous Peoples Network, details violations of Dayak peoples’ rights by both the government and companies planning to build a huge dam across Sarawak’s second largest river, the Baram.

The Sungai Utik Declaration was the outcome of young indigenous leaders training. The declaration was formed in a highly collaborative drafting process, which followed five days of deep reflection by over twenty young indigenous leaders from Indonesia and the Phillippines.